End of the Spear

A missionary is defined as

1.a person sent by a church into an area to carry on evangelism or other activities.

2.a person strongly in favor of a program, set of principles, etc., who attempts to persuade or convert others.

3.a person who is sent on a mission.

It does not seem to me that missionaries get enough credit in those simple definitions. Being a missionary is so much more than having a job to carry out or attempting to convert people. A missionary is someone willing to love the unloveable, someone who lives outside their comfort zone, someone who stands up for what they believe in, someone willing to sacrifice. . .

One of the most inspirational missionary stories I have ever heard is that of a group of men reaching out to the Waodani tribe. The Waodani, also known as Aucas-“savage killers”, lived in the Amazon jungle of Ecuador undisturbed by the outside world. Missionaries Jim Elliot, Pete Fleming, Ed McCully, Roger Youderian, and Nate Saint had a vision of reaching the Waodani people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. During this mission, these brave men would brutally lose their lives, but their mission was accomplished. Because of their faith and sacrifice, the Waodani people were given an opportunity to know Jesus and receive salvation.

The End of the Spear (affiliate) is the story of Steve Saint, the five year old boy who lost his father in this tragic mission. It is a story of what happened that day so many years ago, and how a man’s vision to see salvation reach the ends of the earth became reality.